


Stability

by Seethedawn



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 19:39:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3459437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seethedawn/pseuds/Seethedawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eggsy must find his place in his new life after the events of V-Day. (Harry survives! not slash though)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

With Valentine, sword-legs and Arthur dead, and Dean and Harry both recovering in hospital, it seemed like it was all wrapped up perfectly.   
Fuck, with Harry alive, the whole mess had turned out better than Eggsy had imagined possible.   
He had a job, a new house for him Mum and sister, and a fucking fantastic story to tell whenever the Princess of Sweden showed up on the news.   
For the first time, ever, Eggsy felt like his life had stability (as much as was possible when working for a super-secret spy organization) and real meaning.   
It was absolutely fucking terrifying.  
Up until this point, Eggsy had lived his life as if he had nothing to lose, simply because there hadn’t been anything. Now, now he had people who believed in him, depended on him. Merlin trusted him to carry out assignments, Roxy relied on him to have her back. The roof over his Mum’s head and the food she fed his sister were his responsibility.

And then there was Harry. Eggsy, his Mum and sister were living with Harry (or was Harry living with them?) in the Galahad's house. Most of Harry's surgeries had been conducted in America, but his months of physical therapy had taken place back in the UK. He had been officially released last week. He wasn't exactly back to normal. He had these special exercises he had to do daily, weekly appointments in London to keep track of his progress and a pile of pills to take with every meal.

Mostly he just seemed old. Much, much older than he'd been when they'd argued about the dog, all those months ago.

Merlin had taken over as Arthur, and lucky for Eggsy and JB, he had always found the shoot-the-dog challenge to be more than a little fucked up. Eggsy, then, had been confirmed as the new Galahad.

Eggsy had always thought of Harry as Harry, not Galahad, so taking on the code-name shouldn't have been a problem. It just felt wrong, though, with Harry still alive, to give away the title which had meant so much to Harry.

After all the guy shot a dog for the name, now the Kingsmen had passed it on, with Harry still alive to see it happen.

Well, Harry and Roxy shot their dogs to get their place, Eggsy supposed this was his version. He hadn't refused this time, after all.

{ - }

He just – It was – Well, Eggsy didn't really know. He had been to visit Harry at St. Bart's, once, after he'd first been transferred back from America. It had been… awkward. He'd gone with Roxy, who seemed to think that Eggsy and Harry would want time alone, so she kept disappearing, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence.

Harry had looked so, so weird in a hospital gown, with his head still partially shaved and the ugly mess of scar tissue exposed. It wasn't fair that it had gone like this. Harry had decades of experience but he ended up here, while Eggsy gotten everything he could have ever wanted.

How much of the look in Harry's eyes was the humiliation of the hospital, the glaze of the drugs, the memory of the church?

He knew Harry was on anti-depressants. Was he even glad he was alive?

Eggsy had held Harry's hand for a moment while Roxy was out of the room, but Harry had startled at the touch. The older man seemed embarrassed.

Harry had congratulated him on being made Galahad. Eggsy apologized, but it was waved away.

"I couldn't think of anyone better," Harry had said, staring hard at Eggsy.

Uncomfortable, Eggsy had quipped, "Yeah, and they didn't make me smother a kitten or anything either."

Harry had smiled weakly, his gaze drifting off toward the window. The room had nice big windows. Better than any hospital room Eggsy had ever seen. But he'd already remarked on the posh-ness of the room when he'd first arrived, so he couldn't use that again.

"I fucked it all up though, all over the newspapers, wasn't it? No idea what happened on X-Factor that day. Surprised I didn't get chucked for that!"

"You did very well, Eggsy, very well indeed," Harry had said sincerely, still gazing vacantly out of the window.

"No, I was just -" Eggsy had started, not wanting Harry to think he'd been fishing for the compliment, when Roxy returned with a nurse.

"Ah," cooed the nurse, "time for our nap, is it, Mr. Hart? The medications make him quite sleepy at this time in the afternoon," she explained to Roxy and Eggsy as she tucked the blankets in around Harry's arms.

Eggsy didn't stick around to hear any more. How was it possible that he had watched this man walk away from a hundred-person massacre less than six months ago?

He didn't visit the hospital again.

{ - }

Merlin knew, of course. Eggsy was kept updated on Harry's progress. He was getting his strength back, his motor functions were improving. No long-term brain damage. Roxy had visited a couple more times, apparently Harry was feeding himself Jell-O now, all by himself.

It made Eggsy want to vomit, thinking of Harry Hart stuck in a place like that, helpless, nurses sponging him clean because he couldn't do it himself.

Then, one day, all of a sudden, Merlin called him into his office.

Never one for small talk, Merlin had opened with; "You realize Galahad's house is still in his name? It's his until he dies, to be precise."

"Oh, no, I didn't know,"

Merlin silently watched, waiting for Eggsy to catch up to whatever he was thinking.

Dread began to creep up Eggsy's neck. So obviously if the house was Harry's, then Harry would live there. Which meant Eggsy had to find a new place for himself, his Mum and sister. Shit. He didn't even know what his salary was as a Kingsman, but there was no guarantee it would get anywhere near as nice of a house in as safe a neighborhood as Galahad's house.

"How long do we have?"

Merlin looked up from his tablet, frowning slightly.

"I don't like that attitude, boy," he warned in a tone Eggsy hadn't heard since training. Even sitting, with Eggsy standing in front of his desk, Merlin was a commanding presence.

"I – sorry, it's just, when?"

"Friday."

"Friday! That's three fucking days from now!"

Merlin set his tablet down on the desk for the first time since Eggsy entered his office, his face hard, "is there a problem, Galahad?"

"Fucking yeah, there's a problem! How am I supposed to find a new place by the time he gets there?!"

Merlin finally stood, as usual taller than Eggsy had been expecting. "That, Galahad, is none of my concern. But your language is, and it will not be tolerated. I must say, I am severely disappointed in your handling of this situation thus far. Dismissed!"

{ - }

He hadn't had the heart to tell his Mum that they would have to move. He would find them a place first, less for her to worry about then. And he'd found himself grounded after his meeting with Merlin, so he had plenty of time to look.

He hadn't had much luck still. He knew that it had meant so much to his Mum for everyone to have their own room. The crib had been set up in the living room at Dean's. And his Mum loved having a real kitchen again. Eggsy hadn't eaten this well at home since primary school. So he had been looking for a three bedroom place with a spacious kitchen in a good school zone that was close enough to the center of London for him to be able to get to the Tailor's at a moment's notice and that was not happening with two days warning.

As a result, at about 4 o'clock on Friday morning, Eggsy was packing. He got all his stuff, his sister's non-essentials and as much of his Mum's stuff as he could without alerting her. If Harry kicked them out, they'd go to a hotel that was close-by and figure it out from there. Maybe Roxy would take them for a while? Lancelot had to have a fairly similar set up, after all.

He was tense and edgy Friday morning. His Mum noticed, of course, but she had this terrible habit of not pointing out when the men in her life seemed tense, so she made breakfast and washed up and took care of the baby like normal, just a quieter version that Eggsy was all too familiar with. He didn't like being the one who made her quiet like that, but he didn't know what was going to happen when Harry got here and found them still settled in, after Merlin explicitly told Eggsy that they needed to be out.

For some reason, Eggsy had been waiting for the doorbell. He had developed several scenarios for the morning, and all of them started with Harry ringing the doorbell.

Eggsy was, therefore, taken entirely by surprise when latch went and Harry's voice called out from the main corridor, "Hello? Anybody home?"


	2. Chapter 2

Eggsy, who had been pacing in the dining room, cursed and rushed out to greet Harry, putting himself between Harry and his Mum and sister without even realizing it.

“Ah, Eggsy!” Called Harry as soon as he caught sight of him. Eggsy stopped in his tracks. A part of him had honestly been expecting a wheelchair. But Harry was - well he wasn’t back to normal, but he was upright, in a tailored suit. His hair was almost back to its familiar length, but he had brushed it differently than Eggsy was used to, probably to cover as much of the scar as possible. Harry was leaning slightly on a cane (Eggsy remembered that a large concern initially had been brain damage that affected Harry’s left leg) but it appeared so natural with the suit that Eggsy hardly noticed that the umbrella had been switched out. He was proportioned differently too. Thinner somehow, while also looking like he’d put on weight. All his months of lying in a hospital bed had turned his muscle to fat, Eggsy supposed, and shitty hospital food had taken care of most of the fat.

“Hey Harry,” Eggsy found himself hovering in front of the archway to the living room where his Mum and sister were, and started to move toward Harry.

“Eggsy?” Questioned his Mum. She had appeared, Rose on her hip, clearly nervous.

Eggsy stopped moving, turning so his back was to his Mum, and Harry would have to look around Eggsy to see them.

Harry, as a gentleman, had begun to move forward to reintroduce himself to the lady, but hesitated, reading Eggsy’s body language.

“So, you’re all still here, then?” He asked.

Eggsy hunched automatically, “Yeah, um, yeah, we were, just, couldn’t find a place.”

“Yes, well, quite understandable. No rush,” Harry smiled, all gentleman, “on your own timeline, of course.”

 _Right_. Eggsy waited, still tense, but at the same time not really sure what he was waiting for.

“Now hold on, who is this? And what is this about us _going somewhere_ , Eggsy?”

“You know him, Mum,” said Eggsy, turning so his Mum wasn’t blocked from Harry’s view anymore.

Harry read this as a sign that he could move further into the house, and suggested, “Shall we move into the living room?”

Eggsy stood between them while his Mum and Harry occupied separate seats in the room, Harry continued, “Yes, I’m afraid we met under quite unfortunate circumstances, Mrs. Unwin…”

Eggsy had explained as much as he could to his Mum once he got back home after V-Day. He was working with the men Dad had been working with when he died, and his Mum would have to make her peace with that. Harry was the man who had got Dean off him after Eggsy’d stolen the car, and he’d also gotten Eggsy out of an 18 month prison sentence, no strings attached, _and_ saved Eggsy from a royal beating down at the pub. He’d then been personally shot in the face by Valentine, the man behind the V-Day violence. Eggsy had allowed her to convince herself that Eggsy’s age prevented him from coming into contact with the kind of violence which had lost him his Dad, and overall, his Mum took Harry’s appearance much better than Eggsy had been willing to hope.

Harry headed upstairs to his room shortly afterward. Eggsy didn’t know if he was disappointed or relieved. He was worried that they’ve made Harry feel unwelcome in his own home, but at the same time listening to Harry slowly struggle up the stairs, pausing for breath every few steps, Eggsy felt his muscles relaxing.

Maybe Harry was just tired. Or he wanted to be alone after months of constant hospital supervision.

Maybe Eggsy should go check on him? Like, maybe he needed to be woken up every half-hour so he didn’t go into a coma? That was head injuries, right?

Eggsy heard the thump of Harry’s new cane on the landing above him. Done with the stairs then. No, he decided, he wouldn’t bother Harry more than he needed to. Harry was probably pissed that they were here still. The best thing Eggsy could do was get them somewhere else to go before Harry lost his patience.

 Eggsy relaxed, slowly. Harry hadn’t seemed angry. They would just stay out of his way, and it would be like they weren’t even there. Eggsy had played that game for years with his Mum’s boyfriends. And hell, now he was an actual spy. No problem.

 

{ - }

 

Eggsy was startled awake by the sound of his sister’s new, 150-piece Lego set being upturned on the surely expensive hardwood floors of Harry’s dining room.

He was lying across the settee, with a blanket draped over his torso, and his hat safely on a nearby end table.

When had he fallen asleep?!

He pulled himself off the couch and launched himself at his sister. His Mum had evidently taken off his shoes while he slept – some super spy he turned out to be, not noticing – and he slipped on the hardwood floors and landed on his back with a thud.

“Rose, no! Come on, let’s get them back in the bag, yeah?”

“You up, then?” Called his Mum from the kitchen.

“Yeah,” he said, “Look, Mum, Rose can’t play with this stuff here. It’s all over the place – Look!”

“Oh, she’s not doing any harm, is she?” His Mum came out from the kitchen with a couple of plates. They’d brought their own paper ones, Harry’s china remained untouched in the cabinets.

“Yeah, but I just feel like we shouldn’t have her toys spread all around the house, you know?” He kept shoveling Lego’s back into the bag, but Rose apparently stopped enjoying the game and began to cry.

“No, no, no, no, shhhh. Come on, come on, Rosie,” Eggsy made soothing noises while he pried a Lego block from his sister’s tiny fist. “Mum! Come on! She’ll wake him up!”

His Mum, finished setting the table, headed back into the kitchen, giving Eggsy a little pat on the head as she passed him.

“Who, Harry? He’s awake already, dear. Said he’d be down in a tick.”

 Eggsy was on his feet and at the kitchen door before she finished talking. “What? What are you talking about?”

“Well I went up with a cuppa tea to let him know dinner was about done. Here,” she handed Eggsy a vat of mashed potatoes, gesturing to the kitchen.

“You woke him up?!” Said Eggsy incredulous.

“Yeah. Can’t eat without him, can we? And I didn’t want it to go cold waiting. Now go on!”

His Mum knew Harry wasn’t an actual tailor. But she probably thought he was some kind of bureaucrat. Someone who _worked for_ the dangerous people. She had _no idea_ what Eggsy had seen Harry do. Eggsy knew it wasn’t fair, but he couldn’t help but turn his mind to the bloody scene Harry had left behind in Kentucky.

Eggsy heard the thump of Harry’s cane on the landing above. He whirled around, trying to see the room as Harry would see it.

Rose had emptied out her Lego’s while Eggsy wasn’t looking and had been industriously spreading them across the floor with an efficiency which would have impressed Eggsy in a different situation. Eggsy’s own shoes and hat were cluttering up the living room and the blanket he’d been using was half on the couch and half on the floor. The dining table was set as best his Mum knew how. Eggsy would have thought it looked fine if it weren’t for his time training at the Manor.

The man thumping his way down the stairs noticed if you _sat_ without permission. Brough-style dress shoes were unacceptable under any circumstances, no matter how polished, and Eggsy stood in the middle of that man’s dining room in mismatched socks, holding a steaming bowl of powder-based mashed potatoes.

His Mum bustled past him, leaning around the corner to call up the stairs, “You need any kind of a hand, Harry?”

 _“MUM!”_ Eggsy hissed.

“No, no, I’m quite alright. Thank you,” Harry appeared around the corner, winded but smiling at Eggsy’s Mum, “Sooner I get use to them the better, eh?”

Eggsy’s Mum smiled, and turned back to Eggsy. “Oh, Eggsy, I thought you were helping Rose clean this lot up? And put that down on the table. Be careful about the place mat! We don’t want to mark up this lovely table, do we?”

 Eggsy complied and started sweeping Lego’s out of Harry’s path with his foot.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, not looking at Harry, who he felt staring at him.

Eggsy’s Mum brought out a steaming bowl of peas and a plate of greasy sausages, oil seeping into the paper towel she’d covered them with.

Eggsy spared a glance at Harry as they all arranged themselves around the table.

“Mrs. Unwin,” Harry began, arranging his napkin neatly in his lap, “may I say, this smells divine. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for a home cooked meal!”

His Mum blushed, “Oh, it was nothing, really.”

“Not at all, I want you to know how much I appreciate your thinking to include me.”

“Yeah, wait ‘till you taste it,” quipped Eggsy, to spare his Mother from another compliment. She didn’t know what to do with them, and Eggsy knew from experience that Harry wouldn’t quit until he felt his point had been accepted.

He remembered suddenly when Dean had once called this very meal shit, and he’d had Eggsy’s Mum blow him under the dinner table to make up for it.

“Nonsense, I’m sure it will taste as good as it smells. Never take a home-cooked meal for granted, Eggsy.”

Eggsy nodded, and swallowed his first mouthful. “S’good, Mum.”

Down at the end of the table she was beaming.

 

{ - }

**Author's Note:**

> I'm terrible! I know I have other stuff I should be working on instead of starting a new story, but I just saw Kingsman and really liked Harry and Eggsy's relationship :) I've seen and read a lot of Harry/Eggsy but I like the idea of exploring how their relationship develops in strictly platonic terms. I'm also not going to devote a lot of time to Kingsman mission stuff, since I'm not especially interested in reading or writing it myself.   
> Let me know if you have any thoughts!


End file.
